Third country imports via Kolkata port: India enforces additional lock system
KATHMANDU, AUG 04 -
Indian Customs have started enforcing additional lock system at Kolkata Port from Aug 1 on Nepal bound containers ferrying third country imports despite repeated requests from Nepal not to do so. Officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) termed India’s unilateral act against the spirit of bilateral transit treaty and railway service agreement.
MoCS officials say they are yet to receive official notice about the additional lock system. Toya Nath Gyawali, joint-secretary at MoCS, said that he only heard about it. However, Nepal’s Consul General in Kolkata Suresh Man Shrestha confirmed the additional lock system by the Indian customs.
According to a high level official at the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, the Indian government had sent a notification a month ago regarding the new arrangement. In response, Nepali officials requested the Indian government in writing not to go ahead with additional lock system. “Nepali officials had also met Indian counterparts in connection with this,” said the Embassay official. “However, Indian officials said that they had to go ahead as it was already the government’s decision.” Indian officials had then said that they could review the additional lock system in the next Inter-Governmental Sub-Committee (IGSC) meeting if the system creates any problem.
The new system is also being applied to containers that come via Indian Railways to the dry port in Birgunj. The dry port is managed by Himalayan Terminal in which Indian Railways’ Container Corporation of India (Concor) has a majority stake. “It shows they also don’t have faith in their own entities,” said an official at MoCS.
Earlier, Nepal bound third country imports used to enter via Kolkata with a one-time lock put by the shipping agent or the carrier authorised by the shipping company. As per the Treaty of Transit signed between Nepal and India, Indian customs officers posted at the seaport shall merely check the “one-time lock” on Nepal bound containers. “If found intact, the customs officer shall allow transportation of the container without examination, unless there are valid reasons to do otherwise,” says the treaty.
India had been pushing for the additional lock system since last year stating that containers proceeding to Nepal via Kolkata port were being tampered with and that the one-time locks had been found broken many times. It had strongly pushed for the double-lock system during the IGSC meeting held in New Delhi in February. One of the participants of the meeting said that the Indian side had said it would unilaterally enforce double lock system. The Nepali side had stressed for continuation of the one-lock system saying that the new arrangement would pose new hassles and generate additional transportation cost for importers, apart from delaying delivery of goods. The Nepali side had argued that there was no need to impose additional lock system as most of the goods from Kolkata port were transported to Nepal via container train. According to MoCS officials, over 70 percent of imports are delivered to Nepal by container train which makes tampering with containers impossible.
Nepali importers say enforcement of the additional lock system will make the entire process cumbersome not only at Kolkata port but also at all Indian customs points. Indian customs has started levying IRS 100 for the additional lock. Currently, importers have to go through 32 stages to get their shipments passed at Kolkata port. “We’ve to give bribe at each stage,” said an importer.
According to Himal Thapa, Deputy Chief at the Consulate General Office in Kolkata, the port clears 40,000-42,000 Nepal bound containers annually which is 10 percent of the total traffic at the port.
Source: Kantipur
Indian Customs have started enforcing additional lock system at Kolkata Port from Aug 1 on Nepal bound containers ferrying third country imports despite repeated requests from Nepal not to do so. Officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) termed India’s unilateral act against the spirit of bilateral transit treaty and railway service agreement.
MoCS officials say they are yet to receive official notice about the additional lock system. Toya Nath Gyawali, joint-secretary at MoCS, said that he only heard about it. However, Nepal’s Consul General in Kolkata Suresh Man Shrestha confirmed the additional lock system by the Indian customs.
According to a high level official at the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, the Indian government had sent a notification a month ago regarding the new arrangement. In response, Nepali officials requested the Indian government in writing not to go ahead with additional lock system. “Nepali officials had also met Indian counterparts in connection with this,” said the Embassay official. “However, Indian officials said that they had to go ahead as it was already the government’s decision.” Indian officials had then said that they could review the additional lock system in the next Inter-Governmental Sub-Committee (IGSC) meeting if the system creates any problem.
The new system is also being applied to containers that come via Indian Railways to the dry port in Birgunj. The dry port is managed by Himalayan Terminal in which Indian Railways’ Container Corporation of India (Concor) has a majority stake. “It shows they also don’t have faith in their own entities,” said an official at MoCS.
Earlier, Nepal bound third country imports used to enter via Kolkata with a one-time lock put by the shipping agent or the carrier authorised by the shipping company. As per the Treaty of Transit signed between Nepal and India, Indian customs officers posted at the seaport shall merely check the “one-time lock” on Nepal bound containers. “If found intact, the customs officer shall allow transportation of the container without examination, unless there are valid reasons to do otherwise,” says the treaty.
India had been pushing for the additional lock system since last year stating that containers proceeding to Nepal via Kolkata port were being tampered with and that the one-time locks had been found broken many times. It had strongly pushed for the double-lock system during the IGSC meeting held in New Delhi in February. One of the participants of the meeting said that the Indian side had said it would unilaterally enforce double lock system. The Nepali side had stressed for continuation of the one-lock system saying that the new arrangement would pose new hassles and generate additional transportation cost for importers, apart from delaying delivery of goods. The Nepali side had argued that there was no need to impose additional lock system as most of the goods from Kolkata port were transported to Nepal via container train. According to MoCS officials, over 70 percent of imports are delivered to Nepal by container train which makes tampering with containers impossible.
Nepali importers say enforcement of the additional lock system will make the entire process cumbersome not only at Kolkata port but also at all Indian customs points. Indian customs has started levying IRS 100 for the additional lock. Currently, importers have to go through 32 stages to get their shipments passed at Kolkata port. “We’ve to give bribe at each stage,” said an importer.
According to Himal Thapa, Deputy Chief at the Consulate General Office in Kolkata, the port clears 40,000-42,000 Nepal bound containers annually which is 10 percent of the total traffic at the port.
Source: Kantipur
